On Friday, 9 September 2005, the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island SAR team and the Naval Hospital Oak Harbor honored and gave tribute to an earlier 9/11 tragedy.
It was on Sept. 11, 1980 when the Search and Rescue team was summoned to rescue a stranded and injured Canadian hiker near Mount Redoubt. The rescue team, consisting of LCDR Dan Mahoney, LT Rick Wall, ADC Tom Sanders, AMSAN Rick Kubal, LT Patrick Kidgell, NC, HMC Roy Lewis and Deputy Sheriff Dustin Hurlbut, accepted the mission and headed to the North Cascades. As the team approached the site, the weather began to deteriorate and slowed the rescue effort. A break in the clouds summoned an opportunity to descend into the deep crevasse to reach the injured hiker. During the descent, a quartering wind from the port side drifted the aircraft to the left and when the clouds again shifted, revealed a ridgeline and one of the rotors encountered the rocky ledge. Firewood One plummeted to the ground striking with such force that the cockpit separated from the rest of the fuselage. LCDR Dan Mahoney, LT Pat Kidgell, HMC Roy Lewis, ADC Tom Sanders and AMSAN Rick Kubal lost their lives on impact. LTJG Rick Wall and Sheriffs Deputy Dustin Hurlbut survived the crash.
A solemn ceremony at the base chapel, recounted the events of that ill-fated day and praised the heroes who without hesitation launched a mission to rescue an injured hiker. Many in attendance were too young to comprehend the selfless actions of their fathers 25 years ago. However, on this anniversary, an admiration and full understanding of the crew of Firewood One’s dedication was known to all. The families of LT Pat Kidgell, NC, USN and HMC Roy Lewis along with the two hikers who found the wreckage, Tom Townsend and Doug Larsen, bowed their heads in prayer with the rest of the congregation, as the three wreaths were blessed by Chaplain Pena. One for LT Kidgell, one for HMC Lewis and one for the five members of the SAR team that lost their lives on September 11th, 1980. The third wreath was flown to the crash site and placed at the memorial marker in their memory.
